What's happening in April?

I might have been having a bad day when I posted a rant about the National Day Calendar and the sillyness and pointlessness of 'special' days/weeks/months.  See - "Are you aware what day it is?" 

I may have been a little harsh in my criticisms and whilst some calendar events are annoying, others seem harmless enough on reflection. In any event, I can always - and usually do, ignore them. Most of them pass me by.  

The other day, I accidentally clicked a wrong 'bookmark' on my laptop and the National Day Calendar website refreshed itself.  I was faced with April's calendar.  I couldn't help myself look through it and heck, what a month it is. 

First up was ....

Chinese Language Day, 20 April. Its purpose was to persuade people to learn the fascinating history of this old language and to learn to speak the language itself.  As you may be aware, it is the hardest language for westerners to learn and takes on average 8-10 years. Therefore it took me less than two seconds on Chinese Language Day to realise that, as someone who hasn't mastered English after 66 years, it was a hopeless cause and a pointless day.

Stationary Week, 20-26 April  This one is most definitely not pointless. I'm all for stationary week!  I'm a big fan of stationary.  Give me a Uni-ball Eye Fineliner, retro fountain pen,  a nice A5 notepad, and I'm a happy man. They make me feel creative and ready for business. But probably like you, I've substituted stationary for a computer and my once decent handwriting is becoming scrawl as a result.  And this is why stationary week is important.  It champions the process of writing, drawing and painting by hand particularly for children who are encouraged to do everything on computers.  

Poetic Earth Month, April  This month we are asked to write or read poems or stories to motivate people to focus on 'earth care' - or something like that.  I'm sure anything that may inspire anybody to take action to save the earth is to be applauded, but this sounds a bit airy fairy to me. Will Greta Thunberg be writing poems or will she be hassling governments and living an exemplary sustainable lifestyle? I'll bet someone writes a poem about Greta Thunberg thinking they've done their bit for the environment.

Talk like Shakespeare Day, 23 April  To thee, this sounds a valorous chuckle but I cant bethink of anyone who is't wouldst best both'r'd to hark to mine own ramblings f'r one minute .  Even an avid  Shakespeare fan would struggle to keep this up for a day. So, verily, it is superfluous folly!

Burlesque Day 26 April  We are encouraged to watch and study burlesque and to join in the singing and dancing in extravagant outfits.  I brought this to the attention of my wife and even bought her a wonderful outfit to encourage her to learn the moves.  But alas, she wasn't playing. The costume will have to be returned, along with my top hat and suspenders.

Stop Food Waste Day 28 April  Apparently, a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted every year.  That fact took some getting my head around and then I realised how much energy and resources must have been unnecessarily wasted and the environmental costs that have unnecessarily been incurred. I think this day should be extended to a month so we can all have a good practice.

Hairball Awareness Day 30 April I wondered if this was a reaction to the current trend for removing pubic hair until I realised I had misread it.  It is of course targeted at cat owners.  I'm not one and will never be one.  However, I do know of a permanent cure for hairballs which I can administer to any cat that might stray into my garden.  

The above are the ones first on the list but there are on average 6 awareness events on every day - so look them up if you can be bothered.   I'm bored now and I promise not to do any more posts on this.  Enjoy your April!